The Muhlenberg womens basketball team is the best in the country that
was not invited to the NCAA Division III Tournament, according to the
latest d3hoops.com national poll.

The Mules are ranked 22nd, and all 21 teams ahead of them received bids to
the 50-team NCAA tournament. The two teams behind them, No. 23 St. Thomas
and No. 24 Lebanon Valley, also were left out. The national poll has no
bearing on the selection process.

The two-time defending Centennial Conference champion Muhlenberg softball
team opens its 2002 season in Osceola, Florida, on Sunday. The team will
play eight games in six days during the trip.

Last season Muhlenberg was one win shy of tying the school record for most
wins. The Mules finished 25-17 while winning the CC title and finishing

Kostelnick needs 16 RBI to break the Mules career
record of 82.

third at the NCAA Atlantic Regional. Clearly last season was the best so
far under head coach Ruth Gibbs five-year stint, and she hopes the
sun gets brighter this coming season.

Gibbs realizes that last year was very good but she knows that
this year can be even better with the personnel she has returning.
Expectations are as high as they ever were in my six years here,
Gibbs says. We have a very experienced and talented pitching staff
coming back, and we have great senior leadership. Ultimately we would like
to repeat as CC champions and make a run at nationals.

The returning pitchers are senior Angela Tyson and sophomore Danielle
DeLucia. Tyson recorded a 2.26 ERA and an 11-8 record and was an All-CC
honorable mention selection. This is Tysons fourth year and as a
personal
goal she said, I want to pitch to my capability and play every game
like it is my last because this is my last season. DeLucia was named
CC pitcher of the year after finishing last season with a 13-8 record and
a 1.27 ERA, which is the fourth lowest in team history.

Top returning hitters include senior Elizabeth Kostelnick and sophomores
Becki Toth and Jaclyn Maser. Kostelnick, a three-year starter at first
base, was named to the All-CC first team and led the Mules with 26 RBI.
Toth, an All-CC first team and All-East Region selection as an outfielder,
batted .417 and became only the third player in school history to have 50
hits in a season. Maser was named to the All-CC second team at third base
while hitting .321 and leading the team with 12 extra-base hits.

Junior Meghan Woods and sophomore Kate Dischino shared the duties behind
the plate last season. Woods led the team with 1.000 fielding percentage
and batted .294 with nine extra-base hits, while Dischino batted .286.

Other returning starters are junior Kelly Berg and Kristen Best and
sophomores Amanda Ibey and Nicole Sarno. Berg, a two-time All-CC
second-team selection, batted .321 while serving as the designated hitter
most of last year. Best, an outfielder, knocked in six runs. Ibey batted
.323 while starting at second base, and Sarno earned All-CC honorable
mention as a centerfielder after batting .298 and stealing nine bases.